Cheesy Baked Potatoes with Pancetta

This quick and easy meal is inspired by the French classic gratin potatoes, but with a delicious twist: pancetta and cheese. This is a great comfort food that can be enjoyed any time of year.
preparation: 20 minutes
making: 35 minutes
total: 55 minutes
servings: 4 servings
nutrition: 700 calories per serving
cuisine: French
Ingredients
- 1.5kg of baking potatoes
- 130g of smoked pancetta dice
- 200ml double cream what is?
- 150g of grated cheddar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground pepper
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp butter
Method
Peel, wash and cut the potatoes into slices half a centimetre thick.
Place them into a pan, cover with water, boil and simmer for 10 minutes until half cooked, then drain.
In this recipe I am using smoked pancetta cubes. If you using pancetta in a form of a smoked bacon slice, cut it into strips and then into cubes.
In a small frying pan or skillet fry the pancetta for 3-4 minutes until browned and crispy, then set aside.
Heat the oven to 200C.
Mix salt, ground pepper and dried thyme in a small bowl.
Prepare an ovenproof dish and grease the bottom and the inside edges inside with a little butter.
I used an oval dish with a length of 28cm and a width of 19cm.
Lay out half of the potatoes into the dish, season them with half of the spices.
Pour half of the double cream and add pancetta.
Cover with a third (⅓) portion of the cheese.
Place the rest of the potato slices, add the remaining seasoning, double cream and another third (⅓) of the cheese.
Cover with tin foil and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove the foil and add the remaining third (⅓) portion of grated cheese.
Bake uncovered for 5 more minutes or slightly longer until the cheese melts and is golden on top.
Serve hot in portions.
Decorate with chopped fresh parsley.